


New Romantics

by MarineDynamite



Category: Multi-Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mamma Mia! Fusion, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, F/M, Inspired by Taylor Swift, Original Character(s), Self-Indulgent, songfic (ish)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21646237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarineDynamite/pseuds/MarineDynamite
Summary: Desperate to find out who her mother is after years of not knowing, Una Della Robbia e-mails three of her father's past lovers inviting them to come to her upcoming 13th birthday party in the idyllic Italian island where she lives.A story of hijinks, revelations, and love in all its forms, all set to the music of Taylor Swift.
Relationships: (background) Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, (background) Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern, (past) Odd Della Robbia/Brynja Heringsdötir, (past) Odd Della Robbia/Eva Skinner, (past) Odd Della Robbia/Samantha Knight, Clarisse Amanogawa-Cheng/Kazuki Minamoto, Odd Della Robbia/Roxy (Winx Club), Una Della Robbia/Renge Kurumi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Confessions of a Teenage Casanova

**Author's Note:**

> So... This is a thing I'm doing. A _really_ weird thing. I fully admit to this being extremely self-indulgent and that this probably won't be most people's cup of tea.
> 
> It's just that I'm really invested in the children I made for my own personal crossover pairings, and in the idea of a Mamma Mia AU that followed most of the original story beats, but took enough liberties to be seen as its own thing. So I decided to combine the two. And I don't know if there are enough people who are going to enjoy this for the chaotic crossover mess that it is, so for now... I at least hope this turns out to be worthwhile.
> 
> (For the record, if you've seen the posts I made on Tumblr about the crossover kids, you probably already know who Una's mother is. How will she enter the picture here is what remains to be seen.)

_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_

_You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light, you and I'll be_

_[Safe and sound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFEDTtKaFzU)..._

It is a dark and still night on the paradisiac Italian island of Capri, and not a soul is awake, with one exception—a young woman padding through the ocean in a tiny rowboat, her face obscured by the hood of her sweatshirt. As she rows, she shifts her focus between the mainland and her slumbering baby girl in the basket that’s faced towards her on the other side of the boat. Upon arrival, she takes the baby in her arms and, clutching her close, slowly approaches a small house in Mount Solaro. Her hands tremble slightly in hesitation, but not once does she actually lose grip of the child.

Facing the doorway, she kisses her daughter’s forehead before gently placing her down onto the doorstep, alongside a folded note, next to the Bull Terrier mix curled up to the side. “Goodbye, my little one.” she whispers, with a hint of melancholy in her voice. “I’ll be back before you even know it. When you’re old enough to understand everything...”

She lets out a sigh before knocking on the door and running away, making sure to remain as quiet as possible in order not to get caught. And as she leaves, she can faintly hear the dog stirring awake and barking in alarm behind her. If things had been different, maybe she wouldn’t have to do that. But as it stands, it’s not like she has a choice.

At least, she knows Odd enough to be sure he’ll be a decent father.

* * *

_We're young and we're reckless, we'll take this way too far_

_It'll leave you breathless or with a nasty scar_

_Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane_

_But I've got a[blank space](https://youtu.be/e-ORhEE9VVg?t=3), baby..._

Everytime she remembers her thirteenth birthday is approaching, Una Della Robbia can feel the butterflies in her stomach all over again. Not just because it’ll mark her transition from preteen to teenager—she’s clearly overwhelmed by that characteristic mix of thrill and concern that tends to come with the prospect of another turn around the sun—but also, because of the massive party her father is planning for the date. Specifically, some of the guests... Just thinking about it is enough to send shivers down her spine. With all of this in mind, she shifts her focus back to her bedside mirror as she brushes her long mauve hair and takes one last look at her clothes to make sure she’s presentable.

As she steps out of her bedroom, she’s greeted by the six Bull Terrier mix dogs waiting for her outside the doorway, patting each and everyone of them as she heads downstairs. One of the dogs, whose fur is peppered in brown spots, runs down the stairs towards her and nuzzles against her leg, eliciting a giggle from her. “Easy, Kumquat! You can come along too!” she tells the pooch, letting him follow her out of the house—but not before approaching her father to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

After putting on her rollerblades, Una proceeds to skate her way down Mount Solaro, with Kumquat following her in hot pursuit, until they both arrive at the main town of Anacapri, greeting the townspeople as they pass them by. It’s something Una always enjoys doing, mainly because it makes her feel like she’s in a Disney movie. But she doesn’t have time to indulge in that; she has to get to her destination soon, because she can’t wait to meet her friends again.

* * *

“So... You said you’d expand on the whole thing about inviting your mom. What is it about?”

Una bites her lip upon hearing the question brought up to her by Shoryu Kurumi, one of her four closest summer camp/internet friends, all of whom managed to save some time on their schedule to attend her upcoming birthday party. His sister Renge is sitting right beside Una, chugging an entire bottle of water, while Kazuki Minamoto cuddles up with Kumquat, and Clarisse Amanogawa-Cheng is braiding Shoryu’s hair behind him. “I mean...” Shoryu continues, “You literally just blurted it out during the video chat last week without explaining it. The party is literally tomorrow, it’s only fair that you finally clear the fog on that.”

That, combined with a nudge from Renge, is enough to get Una to finally spill the beans. “Very well!” she exclaims, clasping her hands flat and looking around at each of her four friends. “So... You guys already know what dad always says when I ask about my mom, right?”

At this, Clarisse shuffles out from behind Shoryu, stretching her neck out forward attentively. “You mean the whole thing about him being unable to keep it in his pants?”

“Bingo!” Una confirms, “And you probably already know that the only thing I know about my mom is that she dropped me off at dad’s doorstep just a couple days after I was born. And I've always kind of accepted that, until...”

She then reaches into her duffel bag and pulls out a diary. Not just any diary; the cover is purple, and on the front, there is a handmade painting of a younger version of Kiwi, her father’s now-elderly dog, peeing—the signature Odd Della Robbia illustration. “This, my folks, is the diary that my dad kept during the year I was born.” she says with a cheeky grin. “And you’re not gonna believe the juicy gossip that’s on here...”

At the sight of that, Renge raises her eyebrows, appearing almost scandalized. “ _Una-chan!_ That’s violation of privacy!”

“Ren-chan, relax. We promised we’d keep this between us. As long as Una-chan isn’t too loud about it...” Kazuki points out, carefully placing Kumquat down on the floor before approaching Una and Renge and sitting on Una’s other side. “Go ahead. Tell us what the whole deal is.”

Without hesitation, Una opens the journal and licks her lips before reading out...

**JANUARY 1ST**

_Happy New Year! And boy, oh boy, this is bound to be a promising one!_

_Between graduating, kickstarting my career as a multi-purpose freelance artist, and Kiwi having puppies, I couldn’t be feeling better about the next 12 months. Granted, my head is still pounding from all the loud music, fireworks and booze, I’ll have to admit. Especially the booze. You know all too well that I’m just not an alcohol kind of guy._

_But I did think I got something special from that New Year’s Eve party. I met this really pretty girl, Eva Skinner, from California. She’s a budding musician and a huge fan of the Subdigitals—talk about a girl with excellent music taste! Naturally, we hit it off right away. So right after ringing in the New Year, I took her to my suite... and the next thing you know, I was fresh off my first big thrill session of the year. In hindsight, maybe that’s another reason why I can still feel my head pounding._

It takes two seconds for Kazuki to connect the dots as to what ‘big thrill session’ could mean, but when he does, his face immediately goes red. “So, to recap... This Eva lady is your mom, correct?” Renge inquires, leaning in closer to get a better look at the diary.

In response, Una just sighs. “You _wish_ it was this streamlined. He never mentions her at any point afterwards. And the next time he mentions sleeping with someone, it’s a completely different woman! Check this out...”

**JANUARY 22ND**

_You’re never gonna believe who I just bumped into on my way back from my most recent gig: Samantha freakin’ Knight! It’s been years since I last saw her at the skateboarding competition all these years ago! I just knew I had to catch up with her after so long. Turns out she’s been laser-focused on building a full-time career as a DJ and EDM producer to support her family, and it seems to have worked out splendidly for her; she’s been growing on SoundCloud, DJing in some of the hottest clubs in France, and she even mentioned she’s in talks to produce some tracks for Alizée’s latest album!_

_Sam has gotten so far; it really is a Cinderella story for the ages. I couldn’t be prouder of her. So we spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing, sharing some coffee, and then I took her back to my place so we could make some sweet, sweet music together... After all, where do you think I learned the term ‘ big thrill session’ from?_

Clarisse raises an eyebrow at the repeated appearance of the term. “Does he use that euphemism all the time?” she wonders, “I mean, I don’t think he expected anyone to come across this...”

“It’s precaution. Uncle Ulrich once told me that the girl who crushed on him back in school once blackmailed him by stealing his diary.” Una clarifies, earning confused stares from the others. “Trust me, it can happen. But back to business...”

**FEBRUARY 4TH**

_After four days, I can officially confirm that the hype is real: The Laneway Festival has exceeded all of my expectations, even if the flight to Australia cost a fortune. They really outdid themselves with the line-up this year; of course I was mainly there for the Subdigitals, but I enjoyed Makoto Kenzaki and Jagged Stone’s respective sets more than I expected to. And don’t get me started on the Generation O! reunion!_

_And can you believe I managed to reunite with another one of my former flings from my school days there? None other than Sissi’s gorgeous Icelandic pen pal, Brynja Heringsdötir. Still just as beautiful as I remembered her. She told me she was there for Clara Nightingale’s set, and even managed to get a free pass into her dressing room before she performed! I really didn’t intend on having a big thrill session tonight, but I just couldn’t help myself. She’s so persuasive and so confident and I just love the way she calls me her ‘elskan’..._

After reading that entry, Una slams the diary shut, startling Kumquat below. “And that was the last he mentioned of sleeping with anyone before I showed up. I may have skipped a few pages before I got to the date in which I was dropped off, but dad and I are so caught up in birthday party preparations that I didn’t bother to check.”

With all of that in mind, Kazuki gets off the bed and starts to take a few steps away from Una and Renge. “So we have Eva, Sam, and Brynja...” he recalls, “Which one did you invite, anyway?”

Una just shuffled in her seat, a clear look of hesitation forming in her face. “Yeah, you’re probably gonna maim me for saying this, but...” She takes a deep breath and blurts out, “I got each of their e-mails and sent invites to all three of them.”

For a moment, the room grows so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Shoryu is slack-jawed, Renge has covered her mouth, and Kazuki’s and Clarisse’s eyes are as wide as saucers. Noticing this, Una immediately adds, “Please don’t get me wrong! I’m not expecting all three of them to show up at once, that would just be unrealistic! If anything, I know they have their own lives and their own business to mind. But as long as at least one of them shows up, I’ll be satisfied.”

Exasperated by Una’s reveal, Renge grabs her by the shoulders and looks straight into her eyes. “Are you mad?! Do they even know about this?!” she questions her.

Una manages to shake loose from Renge’s grip, shuffling slightly to the side and giving her a light tap on the back. “Now, now, Renge... There’s a reason I went with e-mails rather than written letters. I couldn’t flat-out tell them the whole story, so I sent the invites through dad’s e-mail address rather than mine. Let’s be real, it’s much easier to send a message on someone else’s name through the internet rather than faking their handwriting.”

As Una lays down on the bed with her hands behind her head, the other four all look at each other with deep concern. This could either be an ingenious master plan... Or it could all go horribly wrong for all parties involved.

_...and I'll write your name_

* * *

Although Renge and Kazuki are still hesitant about the whole debacle, they and the others still agree to head to the Marina Grande pier with her and join Una in waiting for the three possible moms to arrive. It’s common knowledge that the only way to get to the island of Capri is by boat, so if any of the women does show up, she, or they, will probably arrive by boat. Probably not on the same boat, but they’ll have traveled all the way here from where they’ve been currently living.

It’s only been minutes, but Shoryu feels like they’ve been waiting for hours. With a huff, he turns to Una and asks, “Can we have a break from this? I’m _starved_.”

“Geez, you’re starting to sound like my dad.” Una replies, briefly putting down her binoculars to glance at him, before shifting her focus back to the arriving boats in the distance.

Suddenly, Una feels Clarisse tap her on the shoulder. “Hold on, I think I’m seeing something...” she says, squinting her eyes and taking a step forward, as she locks her gaze on one of the ferry boats approaching the pier. Una wordlessly lends her the binoculars, and once she puts them on, she’s able to get a somewhat better look at the passengers on the boat. “There’s a blonde woman on that boat, with a guitar... And I think that’s the Subdigitals logo on her bag...”

Upon hearing “Subdigitals”, Una immediately jolts up and grabs Clarisse and the binoculars, in order to try and look through it. “Oh my goodness... If that’s who I think it is, then I guess we can call the mystery solved!” she exclaims ecstatically, before running towards the side of the pier where the boat is set to dock.

It’s not long until the boat is docked and the passengers step out of it, and amidst the crowd, Una is able to spot the blonde with the Subdigitals logo on her bag, shuffling through the people around her to get to her. “E-Excuse me, ma’am... Are you Eva Skinner, by any chance?” she asks while tugging on the woman’s sleeve.

The blonde’s gaze quickly meets Una’s, and albeit startled at first, she smiles down at her. “Why, yes... And you must be the birthday girl.” she replies, folding her arms over her bosom. “Luna, right?”

Slightly flustered, Una grabs Eva’s hand to shake it, her eyes firmly locked on the American woman. “Una, actually! Just Una, no L! I’m the one who’s turning 13 tomorrow... Una Della Robbia, daughter of Odd Della Robbia... You probably know him...”

“Odd Della Robbia? Why, it’s been a while since the last time I heard that name...”

The unfamiliar female voice takes Una completely by surprise, causing her to turn around and notice someone standing behind her—a dark-skinned woman with red streaks in her otherwise black hair, matching the color scheme of her clothing. “I gotta say, you look exactly like I expected his offspring to look.” she says, stepping forward to take a closer look at Una. “I’m Samantha. Nice to meet you.”

Una is speechless, only being able to muster a nervous laughter and a nod. The other four, witnessing this scene, exchange looks of concern and befuddlement, as Kazuki approaches Una and pulls her away by the shoulders. “Nevermind her! She’s just a little too excited to be meeting you two.” he remarks, looking back and forth between Eva and Sam. “Her father did tell her a lot about you and...”

“ _Halló!_ ”

The arrival of a woman with golden blonde hair and perpetually flushed cheeks grabs everyone’s attention. “Let’s get the party started, shall we?” she says, invitingly, as she lowers her sunglasses to reveal her green eyes.

The thick Icelandic accent in the woman’s voice is enough to tip the teens off as to who she is: Brynja Heringsdötir. At this point, Una’s nervous smile has melted off into a frightened grimace, and Kazuki, still holding her, can feel her shaking like a leaf. She had made her intentions crystal clear earlier: when she sent the e-mails, she expected at least one of the women to miss out. After all, she knew they hadn’t seen her father in years, and they all most likely had their own careers, just as she had mentioned.

Never in a million years did she predict that all three women would drop everything to travel to an Italian island just for a guy they slept with 13 years ago.

_Don't say I didn't, say I didn't warn you..._


	2. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odd comes across a few faces from his past, both wanted and unwanted, while Una and her friends try to come up with a new tactic to unveil the mystery surrounding her mother.

_I heard you moved on, from whispers on the street_

_A new notch in your belt is all I'll ever be_

_And now I see_

_[I knew you were trouble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhmxjrWxQc) when you walked in_

_So shame on me now_ _..._

It was always kind of a foregone conclusion that Odd would turn out to have an affinity for the arts, much like his parents. Following his rocky junior high years, it was in university where he truly thrived, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Audiovisual Arts. And taking up residence in his father’s home country certainly helped him tap into the necessary inspiration to start his work as a multi-purpose freelance artist. He's an illustrator, a musician, a videographer for special events such as weddings, baby showers and bar mitzvahs. He’s willing to do whatever he can to raise enough money to open his own gallery and, most importantly, raise his daughter.

Under the watchful eye of Kiwi, his first and closest friend, Odd carefully takes hold of one of the paint-filled balloons he’s gathered, focused on aiming at one of the blank spots on the illustration he’s currently working on. He throws the balloon, and when it hits the exact spot he’s aiming at, he pumps his fist in approval. “Still got it, huh?” he says to himself with a chuckle, picking up a few paintbrushes and approaching the canvas to reshape the splatter of paint to fit the sketch underneath.

As Odd continues working on his illustration, he hears the door open as Una walks in, with her friends huddled around her. And when he turns around to greet them, he immediately notices something is off, seeing as Una is flushed and shaking and visibly unnerved. “Kitten? What’s the matter?” he asks, approaching the kids and placing his hand on his daughter’s forehead. “You don’t seem like yourself... And you’re a tad overheated as well.”

In response, Una tries to play it cool, forcing a smile at him. “I-It’s nothing, dad!” she stammers, “Just pre-birthday nerves, that’s all.”

“And this _weather_ , too!” Shoryu chimes in, “I swear November shouldn’t be this hot! Global warming is getting more and more real by the minute!”

For a second, it seems as if Odd can see through the flimsy excuse, raising an eyebrow in apparent skepticism. Thankfully for the kids, any worries about their secret being exposed quickly fade away as Odd smiles and ruffles Una’s hair. “I see how it is. Do you kids want me to get some gelato for you?” he offers, “It might come in handy.”

“As long as you don’t eat half the pint before you get back, it’s cool.” Renge answers with a nonchalant shrug, not even noticing the pun she unintentionally made.

Upon being given the green light by the kids, Odd leans down to give Una a kiss on the cheek and sprints to the doorway. “Worry not, I’ve grown out of these tendencies!” he reassures them, pausing before adding, “...for the most part, at least. But I promise I won’t be gone for long! Bye, kids!”

He promptly leaves, watched by Una and her friends, waving goodbye at him, while Kumquat scurries back to where his siblings are. Once Odd has left their viewpoint, there are a few seconds of silence before Clarisse asks, “So... Does he know you invited three of his former flames to the party?”

Una just lets out a huff of frustration. “Of course not. And may the Dii Consentes help us if he ever finds out.”

* * *

Odd’s intention was initially to just get _one_ pint of gelato, but he ends up getting a little too carried away and grabs multiple flavors, just to be safe. Strawberry, black cherry, peppermint bark, mint chocolate chip, and mango with extra pulp—Una’s favorite. Some are larger than the others, not just for the kids but for himself; he claims to have grown out of his past teenage gluttony, but at the end of the day, he still has a bottomless pit of a stomach. Thankfully, the bakery he gets the pints from sells them at a reasonable price, so he does’t have to spend much money. Thus, with everything paid for, he drives his motor scooter through the town, carrying five pints of gelato and occasionally waving to the townsfolk on his way back home.

But suddenly, he stops in his tracks. He can faintly hear female voices chattering in the distance. _Familiar_ female voices. Getting off the motor scooter, he slowly gets closer to where the chatter is coming from, peeping behind a wall to find out what’s going on.

What he comes across proves to be enough to knock the wind out of him right then and there.

“Do you think he’d like this one?”

“I don’t know, isn’t it a little too short?”

“We’re in an island, Eva! It makes sense to wear shorter clothing! Besides, it brings out my legs...”

“Brynja, it’s 16ºC. Even in an island, it’s too cold for you to be walking around with your legs out like that.”

_Oh no._

Although he’s from a fair distance from them, he can still recognize them even from afar. And it honestly _scares_ him.

Odd is usually a pretty fearless guy, that’s something anyone who was close to him could confirm. But the sight of three women he hasn’t seen in ages, and who probably had never met each other beforehand, all together in the same place at the same time for who knows why, for whatever reason, petrifies him. It was his worst nightmare, second only to the potato epidemic one. He has absolutely no idea as to what could’ve brought all of them together. Was this karma? The goddess Venus punishing him for his past casanova days?

Perhaps it’s just his mind playing tricks on him. Perhaps the birthday preparations are sending his imagination into overdrive, and making him hallucinate. Perhaps if he just continued on his way back home, drank some water and sat back, he would stop seeing things...

Before he can do anything about it, though, he’s hit by a large, restless fish that was just caught by a local fisherman walking by, and is sent tumbling down onto the ground and into the women’s view. When he’s able to look back up and get his face off the ground, the three women are staring down at him, smiling in amusement. “Well, look who the cat dragged in.” Eva quips.

Clearly flustered, Odd scrambles to get back up and dusts himself off before looking directly at the women. “I’m sorry, I just... I have so many questions right now...” he mumbles, trying to sort out his thought process. “W-Why are you even here? How did you find me? How did you find _each other_? Did you even _know each other_?”

“Not really.” Sam answers, shrugging nonchalantly as she decides to come up with some fake excuses on the spot. “I’m here to DJ at a wedding, Brynja’s exploring the island and doing some shopping, and Eva, uh...”

“Just looking for songwriting inspiration.” Eva completes, “From what I can tell, it seems to be a serendipitous coincidence that all three of us, strangers to one another, just so happen to have had a thing with you before.”

Placing the dress she was holding aside, Brynja steps forward and takes Odd by both hands. “And from the looks of it, you haven’t changed in the slightest!” she adds, flashing a cheeky wink at him.

However, Odd doesn’t give in to her advances, at least not as easily as he would have as a teenager. “Slow down there, will ya?” he scolds, backing away from her and clearing his throat before continuing, “Listen... If you three are really just doing your own things and it's all just a crazy coincidence, then please try to keep your distance from me at the moment. I've been busier than ever, with my daughter's birthday coming up, and I don’t need any more stress than what I’ve been dealing with at the moment.”

The women just look at one another before Sam, on behalf of the three of them, gives Odd a thumbs-up. “Perfect. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back home before all the gelato I bought for my daughter and her friends melts in this sun.” Odd states, now much more tranquil, as he starts to walk away, briefly stopping to wave the women goodbye before continuing back to where his motor scooter is.

* * *

Back at the Della Robbia home, the kids are lounging around in Una's bedroom, contemplating their current predicament. Shoryu's gaze is focused on the match-3 game he's playing on his phone, while Clarisse has another one of the family dogs, a female named Kinnow, on her lap as she rubs the dog's belly. “This is so surreal.” Una points out, “I thought I had all of this figured out, but I ended up dragging all three of those ladies away from their homes just to find out which one of them I popped out of. Now I have to come up with a back-up strategy.”

Just then, Kazuki leans forward, having just thought of something that could be relevant. “You know those TV shows that do DNA tests live on air?” he suggests, “I don’t know if there is one here in Italy, but if there is, you could sign up for it with your story!”

“Uhm, there’s a detail you have to take into account, Kazukkun...” Renge, sitting right beside him, retorts, “Apparently the people that go to these shows are handpicked by the producers, either by chance or taking into account which stories are the most outlandish and would make for the best possible TV.” She pauses for a second, then finishes matter-of-factly, “By which I mean drama and people screaming and chairs flying across the set at the slightest provocation.”

As Kazuki grimaces at the thought, the kids suddenly notice the door opening and Odd stepping into the room, carrying five bowls full of varied scoops of gelato. “Sorry for the wait! I may have taken a tad longer than expected...” he tells them in a somewhat nervous tone, before perking up as he adds, “Feel free to treat yourselves!”

Like clockwork, the kids get up to grab their respective bowls of gelato—Una’s, of course, consists mostly of mango scoops—and thank Odd for the meal. This gives him the chance to head back downstairs, where his own bowl of gelato awaits atop the kitchen counter. As he eats his first spoonfuls of gelato from the bowl, he heads over to the couch, right beside Kiwi.

Odd slumps on the couch and proceeds to look around the room, which is pretty much empty except for the other family dogs—Kumquat and Pompia appear to be playing tug-of-war with an old slipper, Makrut is enjoying his chicken-flavored dog food in the corner, Lumia is playing with a squeaky duck toy, and Etrog is asleep. From above, he can faintly hear the chatter of his daughter and their friends, and while he’s unaware of it, they should be thankful that he can’t quite make out what exactly they’re discussing.

Odd lets out a sigh and turns his gaze towards his diggity dog. “Y’know, Kiwi... Sometimes I wish we could just... go back to simpler times.” he confesses, “When it was just me, you, and the rest of the gang at Kadic. When we were young and sprightly and living each day as if it could be our last... And sometimes it came dangerously close to being so.”

He then gets up from the couch and proceeds to pace around the room as he continues, “Now we keep getting older, and having more pressure piled upon us. I have a career to uphold, and a child to look after... A child that is slowly beginning to form her own opinions and her own viewpoint in life, and is slowly becoming more difficult to keep track of. It’s just too much. My parents had _six_ children to raise and they seemed to handle that better than I am with just one!”

Folding his arms over his chest, Odd lets out a sigh. This isn’t like himself; at least, not the way he knows himself. “Can’t the universe give a guy a break for once?”

Silence.

Kiwi stares, tail wagging behind him.

Odd stares back, shaking his head.

And then...

“That depends. Who wants to know?”

Another familiar voice—but this time, it doesn’t strike fear in Odd. He turns around, and is overcome with joy at what he finds. Standing at the doorway, smiling at him, are Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama, two of his closest friends from the Kadic days. The resulting squeal from Odd bounces around the walls of the room and snaps Etrog out of his slumber, as the three longtime friends come together in a group hug. “I can’t believe it! It’s been way too long!” he exclaims amidst laughter, receiving a pat on the back from Ulrich.

“We figured you needed help with preparing the party.” Yumi replies, raising her left hand to her face before continuing, “Especially because Ulrich and I have been doing some planning of our own...”

It’s then that Odd notices the massive, emerald-cut blood diamond on the ring Yumi’s wearing, and he finds himself having to bite his lip to hold back an even louder squeal. “Took you two long enough!” he gushes, wrapping an arm around Ulrich and pulling him close. “Congratulations, good buddy! I can already tell this is gonna be the wedding of the century!”

Ulrich lets out a flustered chuckle. “Yeah, let’s just say it’s been a long time coming and leave it at that.” he notes, briefly turning his gaze to the woman he is now proud to call his fiancée.

It’s then that Odd notices the arrival of a pink-haired woman and a bespectacled blonde man, the latter of whom is carrying, with noticeable struggle, a pretty large dark pink suitcase. “I’m not sure if it’s really necessary for you to have packed all of this, Aelita...” Jeremie Belpois, computer genius extraordinaire, tells his wife, letting go of the suitcase to wipe the sweat off his brow and shake his limbs loose.

Seeing this, Ulrich and Yumi step aside so Odd can greet their other two friends. “Heeeeey, Einstein!” Odd shouts as he goes in to hug Jeremie, “It’s been a while, huh? And yet, it seems like you didn’t change much.”

Visibly disgruntled, Jeremie adjusts his glasses, while Odd moves on to hug Aelita. “And how’s my favorite cousin doing?”

“Odd...” Aelita reminds him sheepishly, “You remember we’re not actually cousins, right?”

He knows, but it’s not like that kind of thing matters to him, let alone at a time like this. When they were still in Kadic and Aelita had just transferred, Odd came up with the story that she was his cousin from Canada in order to cover for her, mainly as they didn’t know the whereabouts of her parents at the time—or if she even had parents to begin with. And given that Odd is Aelita’s closest friend, it isn’t too difficult to believe they could actually be related.

He still has his arms around her when he sees another, younger pink-haired woman carrying her own suitcase, appearing almost as exhausted as Jeremie. “Uncle Odd?” Maya Belpois, Jeremie and Aelita’s daughter, says as she tries to catch her breath. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about me...”

“Not in a million years!” Odd replies as he lets go of Aelita and approaches Maya to hug her. “Maya, oh my, you’ve grown so much! You’re starting to look a bit more like your father!” he points out, pinching her cheeks.

Maya just giggles in response, rubbing her cheeks once Odd lets go of them. “Tell me something I don’t know... I mean, I just turned 18, it comes with the territory.” she reminds him, somewhat sheepishly.

Upon hearing that, Odd steps back with a stunned look on his face. “18?! _Already_?!” he exclaims, grabbing Maya by the wrists and staring into her eyes. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you now! You could hack your way into the government’s computers if you want to!”

Amidst all of his euphoria, Odd takes some time to catch his breath and regain his composure, still smiling nonetheless, as the other four watch him, smiling at one another. “You guys have no idea of how glad I am that you’re here.” he tells his friends, exhaling deeply before continuing, “There’s so much going on right now, I’m not sure if I would be able to handle it on my own.”

The gang really was back together. All of a sudden, Odd felt like himself again.


	3. Days Gone By, Rippling in the Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adults remember stories of their past, as Una bonds with her potential mother figures and a new arrival promises to shake things up.

_Don't read the last page_

_But I stay when it’s hard or it’s wrong or we're making mistakes_

_I want your midnights_

_But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on[New Year's Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWSn0H4qfAs)_

Back at the pier, a new batch of boats is docking, and from one of them, among the passengers, emerges a woman who looks towards the island with a start. By her side is her trusty Croatian bloodhound, who nuzzles against her leg as he catches up to her. “Here we are, Artù.” the woman asks, gently patting her dog before looking back at the view of the island. “You have no idea of how much I’ve dreamed of being here again.”

Roxy has her reasons to be there. She’s planned this out thoroughly, having figured out how to balance out her schedule so the trip doesn’t interfere with the family business, the Frutti Music Bar, which she’s been running for ten years now, having taken over from her father following his retirement. She’s been told by the people around her that going back would be foolish, a waste of time, that things could not work out the way she imagines them to. But it doesn’t stop her. She doesn’t waver. When Roxy wants something, she’ll go for it regardless of any obstacles.

She’s there with a purpose, and first, she has to find _him_.

* * *

Between Odd and Una and their respective groups of friends, the Della Robbia home has never been this full of people and chatter before. However, the atmosphere between the two groups couldn’t be more distinct: the adults are laughing and talking about how life has been for them—apparently William Dunbar, the remaining member of their friend group, has chosen to remain distant, but still sent his best wishes to Ulrich and Yumi after finding out about their engagement—while the kids are fervorously discussing Una’s back-up tactic to find out the identity of her mother, which is to try and bond with the three potential candidates and get as much information from them as possible.

Noticing that Sam, in what appears to be perfect timing, just so happens to be online at the moment, Una hits her up with a text message, telling her that she’s planning to meet up with her and the other possible mothers at one of the island’s secret beaches, in order to have a proper conversation with them. While for a second she thinks they may not accept the offer, she gets a reply sooner than she expects.

**Sam**

_< just asked the others_

_< they’re up for it_

**You**

_gr8 >_

**Sam**

_< if you wanna meet up now let me know_

**You**

_will do >_

_👍_ _>_

_thanks!! >_

The kids are all visibly relieved at this, with Una jolting to her feet and grabbing her duffel bag. "Well, there you have it. I'm now one step closer to the truth. It's honestly making me a little nervous just thinking about it..." she tells the others, giggling in unbridled anticipation.

However, before she can leave the room, the five hear the door creak open as Maya makes her way in. “Am I interrupting anything important?” she wonders with a playful smirk.

Una somehow manages not to drop her duffel bag as she grins and runs over to hug the older girl. “MAYA! Oh my goodness, you’re actually here! I... I thought you and your folks wanted to spend winter break in Switzerland? What happened?”

"Yeah, we had to scrap that. Mom and dad thought it would be better for us to pay visit to your dad and help him with the party.” Maya explains, scratching the back of her head. “That and being around snow gives mom way too many bad memories. Happy birthday, by the way! Oh, you’ve grown so much!"

As the two girls relish in their reunion, Renge notices Shoryu watching Maya with flushed cheeks and a different glint in his eyes, and is clearly bothered by this. “ _Nii-chan_... You do know she’s way older than you, right?” she asks him, but as her words fall on deaf ears, she finds herself waving her hand in front of his face going, “Hello?”

No answer. Annoyed, she resorts to pinching her brother back to reality. “Oww! What was that for?”

“You know all too well what that was for.” Renge tells him, not even bothering to mask how done she is with that nonsense.

* * *

Thus, Una heads downstairs and, after greeting all four of her honorary aunts and uncles, puts on her rollerblades again and skates down to the beach—located somewhere between Punta Ventroso and Punta di Mulo–where she planned to meet her possible mothers. Upon arrival, she is immediately greeted by Brynja, who runs over to hug her. “There you are! We’ve been waiting for quite a while now!” she exclaims, taking Una by the hand and taking her towards the other two. “Come on! We have so much to talk about!”

Sitting down in the empty space between Sam and Brynja, Una starts to explain, “Sorry if I took so long, I had to take care of some stuff back home and...” What she says begins to trail away as she looks at Eva and points out, “Hey! That’s dad’s guitar!”

“Oh, this old thing?” Eva retorts with a chuckle, “Your dad left it in our hotel room after our fling on New Year’s Day all these years ago. He was in such a rush to get back home he completely forgot about it. I’m planning to give it back to him as soon as I find time to... But for now, it’s still a nice memento of the little time we spent together.” Slowly plucking the strings, she begins to strum a tune, which Una is quick to recognize.

“ _Little angel, breathing down your smile_

 _Little angel, could it be a sign?_

_Little angel, you're my beauty queen_

_Can you break the code..._ ”

“ _...And get them out of here?_ ” Una finds herself singing along, laughing in delight as she states, “Oh, I love that song! Dad once told me Uncle Jeremie and Aunt Aelita chose this song for their first dance at their wedding because of how much it suited their romance. Well, it was between that and Jamiroquai's Love Foolosophy, but the decision came down to Aunt Aelita and she thought this one would work better...”

Before she’s able to delve any further into that, Una hears Sam chuckle in amusement. “You’re quite talkative, aren’t you? Seems this conversation’s gonna last for a while...”

And it does. Una learns so much from these three women she previously knew nothing about. Eva shows her some guitar basics, Brynja takes her for a swim--Una is secretly glad she remembered to wear her swimsuit underneath her clothes--and Sam tells her the most stories, in particular about how she was the first girl Odd ever kissed on the lips, back when they were still teenagers. Apparently he was going in for a traditional French cheek-kiss greeting, but they leaned their heads to the same direction, so it just kind of happened.

Amidst it all, Una nearly loses track of time, but is able to get it back upon hearing a notification coming from her phone, when the sky is already becoming rosy. “Um... I have to go!” she blurts out, scrambling to stuff her clothes into her duffel bag as quickly as possible. “You see, dad and I have decided to do this pre-birthday luau of sorts, as a warm-up for the actual party tomorrow, and I promised my friends that I’d head back home so I can prepare for the luau with Renge and ‘Risse... If you wanna go, then feel free to do so!”

At this, Brynja wiggles her fingers and looks at her with curiosity. “Ooh, a luau with an Italian twist! I wonder how _that_ is going to play out!” she muses.

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound too bad.” Sam agrees, “We’ll be there.”

Una lets out an elated sigh and clasps her hands together, starting to back away. “Oh, thank you, thank you so much!” she says before leaving the beach, slinging her duffel bag around her shoulder and eliciting a giggle from Eva as she twists her long hair to let the ocean water drip out.

* * *

Back at the Della Robbia home, after a long afternoon of catching up, the time for the luau is fast approaching, and as Jeremie and Aelita carry the treats for the festivities together, Odd is at the doorway with Ulrich and Yumi, staring into Ulrich’s eyes while holding both of his hands. “I’m so glad you decided to help me with the pre-birthday luau.” he tells them with a deep sigh, “My hands are already full enough with the party itself!”

“You know, it doesn’t exactly surprise me that you’re going as far as to throw a party before a party.” Ulrich remarks, with his arms folded over his chest. “But I am impressed that you’re doing all of this for your daughter. You seem pretty devoted to that little girl.”

Odd chuckles softly in response, as he flushes and scratches the back of his neck. “Well... I just wanna give Una the best experience possible. It is her big coming of age, after all.” he explains, his voice beginning to crack as he continues, “And she... She’s the best thing that happened to me since I moved to this place. I’m still thankful to have received a second chance to be a parent after losing Jean-Pierre all those years ago.”

At this, Yumi suddenly covers her mouth as to not let out a laugh, while Ulrich just gives his best friend a baffled look. “Seriously, Odd? You _still_ haven’t let that go?” Yumi questions incredulously.

“He was _so young!_ ” Odd retorts, “To think his life was tragically cut short like that... It breaks my heart just thinking about it.”

His response doesn’t seem to make Ulrich any less annoyed, though. In fact, he remembers that day quite clearly. “Amazing. All of that over a Tamagotchi of all things.” he says dryly.

While still visibly miffed over Ulrich’s comments, Odd understands where he’s coming from. Now that he’s an adult and a father to a flesh-and-blood teenage girl, it does seem pathetic for him to still be hung up over his old virtual pet. Nonetheless, the little time he spent looking after Jean-Pierre, in addition to his years of experience looking after Kiwi, may have helped mold him into the caring and protective father he is to Una today.

“So... You coming?” Ulrich asks.

Odd shrugs nonchalantly and takes a step back into the house. “I’d rather just stay here. This whole birthday party thing’s been giving me more work than usual.” he mentions, “Right now, I just wanna have some precious time with the diggity dogs and relax before my little girl’s big day.”

He smiles, and Ulrich smiles back—which is ironic for a guy whose last name is literally Stern. “Have it your way then.” he replies, taking Yumi’s hand and waving goodbye to Odd as the couple begins to leave for the luau.

The fond look on Odd’s face as he watches them leave is enough of a wish of enjoyment for the two, even without words. For a short while, it seems he is once again alone with the dogs, albeit much more content than he was before. Shaking his limbs loose, he heads to the couch and lays on top of it, listening to Kiwi’s hums as the rickety dog sleeps from afar. But then he hears a knock on the front door, and quickly gets up to find out who it is on the other side.

His heart flutters when he lays eyes on the beautiful dark-pink-haired woman in front of him. “Roxy?”

“Hey, Odd.” Roxy greets him coyly, “It’s... been a while, huh?”

All Odd can do is let out a dreamy sigh and contemplate her presence. “Believe me, it felt like forever.”

_Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you_

_And I will hold on to you_

* * *

Upstairs, in the bathroom, Una is visibly discomforted as Clarisse, very slowly and carefully, wraps a strand of her hair around the curling iron she borrowed from her mothers. The two girls, as well as Renge, have both gotten appropriately dressed for the luau, wearing breezy, tropical-influenced dresses with the Fairy Drop logo brandished on them. “Geez, ‘Risse, can’t you rush that a little more? We’re gonna be late for the luau if you keep this up!” she urges, tapping her foot against the floor tiles.

Clarisse responds by rolling her eyes and huffing. “I’m sorry, Unacchi, but I have to be careful with this. It’s my first time using it, and I don’t want anything to go wrong.” she justifies, “Or would you rather me burn off a chunk of your hair like in all those viral videos?”

With this in mind, Una exhales and wordlessly lets Clarisse continue doing her hair the way she’s doing. Just then, a knock is heard on the door, as Shoryu is heard calling out, “Hey! Are you girls dressed yet? Ren-chan, you promised you’d let me do your make-up!”

Renge smiles and shakes her head as she approaches the door and unlocks it, allowing her brother to come in, make-up kit in hand. “Alright then... It may be a little cramped in here, but it’s not like that’s gonna stop me from making the magic happen.” he says confidently, stretching his arms and wiggling his fingers.

Due to Shoryu’s natural gift at make-up artistry, it doesn’t take long for the four teens to emerge, fully ready, from the bathroom, startling Kazuki, who’s been waiting in the hallway all this time, with the sound of the door opening. “Ta-da! Simple, but striking looks, perfect for a fun litoranean get-together.” Shoryu gloats, “I don’t wanna toot my own horn, but I think I did a pretty good job here.”

He then pauses as he notices the dumbstruck look on Kazuki’s face in response to Clarisse’s current appearance. “I see someone agrees with me there!” he quips, causing both of them to fumble with their hands and look to the side, blushing madly.

With everyone prepared, present and accounted for, Shoryu leads the pack as they head downstairs and begin on their way to the luau. As Una follows her friends out of the door, she spots, from the corner of her eye, her father talking to a woman she’s never seen before, looking unusually besotted. “Dad? Are you not coming?” she wonders, getting Odd’s attention.

“Oh! Thanks, kitten, but right now I’m kind of tired from all the birthday party preparations.” Odd replies, “Have fun out there! And try not to get into any trouble!”

Una gives her father a nod in response. “Don’t worry, dad. I’ll be fine.” she says matter-of-factly, before heading out the door alongside her friends. She wants to ponder more about what’s the deal between her father and that woman. Not that she has any bad feelings about the woman in question, mind you; in fact, she did seem very pleasant.

But Una knows she doesn’t have time to think about that right now. She’s got another perfect opportunity to find out who her mother is, and she’s going for it regardless of any obstacles.


	4. Mismatched Puzzle Pieces

_We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time_

_It's miserable and magical_

_Tonight's the night when we forget about the heartbreaks_

_It's time..._

_I don't know about you, but I'm feeling[22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrrhOi9m_k0)_

_Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you..._

Thanks to both Odd and Una being such social butterflies, it turns out quite a healthy amount of locals from the island have been invited to the birthday party, and it certainly shows in the half-hour leading up to the start of the luau, as the Marina Grande beach is already packed with people by the time Una and her friends arrive. Granted, it is a public beach and it usually is very crowded as is, but there are way too many people gathered in one place for it to be a coincidence.

However, in Una’s eyes, all that matters is that the most important guests, her three possible mothers, have to be there. And they still haven’t arrived. “Where are they? They promised me they’d show up!” she wonders, visibly miffed. “Oh, please don’t let me down!”

“Seems like they haven’t.” Kazuki points out, grabbing Una by the shoulder and turning her to the other side. “Look!”

Indeed, Eva, Sam and Brynja are all gathered near the bonfire that’s been set up at the center of the beach. Although Una feels guilty at having to potentially ruin whatever conversation they’re relishing in, she’s still relieved to see them there, and with a tap on the back from Renge for encouragement, she dusts off her skirt and approach them, as cautiously as she can as to not interrupt them.

As she watches Una blend into the crowd, Renge lets a small smile form on her face, her cheeks slowly growing pink. “Gotta love our Una. She just goes for what she wants headfirst like that.” she remarks, her gaze trailing to the side... only for her to notice that Shoryu, who was standing right next to her, has suddenly vanished into the crowd as well, much to her exasperation.

As it turns out, Shoryu is actually making his way towards Maya, who’s snapping pictures of the horizon on her phone and not really paying attention to the luau itself. When he manages to sneak into the view of her phone camera, she takes a step back in surprise--“Whoa!”

Shoryu is visibly flushed as he laughs nervously and tries to explain, “Yeah, sorry for that! Um...” He clears his throat and continues, “We haven’t met properly before, but Una’s already told me a lot about you, so I feel like we don’t have much work to do here. I’m Shoryu! Shoryu Kurumi! And it’s a pleasure to _actually_ meet you!”

Maya is quite amused at how bashful Shoryu seems to be towards her, holding back a giggle. She’s already used to this kind of reception from her male university classmates back home, so it doesn’t surprise her that she’s got this tiny, hormonal teenager feeling this way. “The pleasure is all mine, really.” she tells him, taking him by the hand. “You seem to be a pretty forward young man... And I’ll have to admit I like that a lot.”

Hearing that proves to be more than enough to get Shoryu to perk up, even if just a little. “Well, mom always tells me I’m quite the charmer...” he tells her, running a hand through his hair.

He tries following it up with something clever, but his mind just goes... Blank. For a few seconds, he stands there, with his mouth open but no sound coming out, until Maya nudges him. “Oh, um... Do you want me to get something for us to eat around these parts?”

* * *

At another part of the beach, Clarisse and Kazuki are making themselves comfortable—or at least, as comfortable as Clarisse can be without getting sand on the much too long skirt of her two-piece dress. She quickly decides the skirt itself is much too bothersome for her, and discards it, using it instead as a towel to sit on—as she does so, Kazuki covers his face with his hands and looks away, just so he doesn’t look like a pervert for having to look at her in her bikini bottoms. “Why have you been so shy lately?” Clarisse wonders, “I mean, I saw the way you were looking at me back at Una’s house. What’s the deal with that?”

‘Shy’ is absolutely the right word to use in this context, as Kazuki is too flustered to come up with a proper answer, stammering and shuffling in his spot and stepping back, only to bump onto a small pile of rocks behind his ankles and falling over. Clarisse, startled, goes over to help him up, and as she does so, he notices the moonlight reflecting off of her, bouncing off her skin and bringing out the light in her eyes. It may not be much, but for him, it’s mesmerizing.

Once he’s back up again, they look into each other’s eyes for a couple seconds, in pregnant silence, before Kazuki mumbles, “If you really wanna know...”

His hand snakes away from her shoulder and down her arm, caressing her soft skin until he wraps his hand around hers. He doesn’t need words to let her know what the deal is—she can just _tell_. And they continue to hold hands as they make their way back to where Clarisse laid her skirt and lay down together on top of it, looking at the stars in a tender embrace. For now, the rest of the world has fallen by the wayside, and they can only focus on each other.

_It feels like one of those nights we ditch the whole scene_

_It feels like one of those nights we won’t be sleeping_

_I gotta have you, I gotta have you_

* * *

The luau goes on, and as the sky grows dark, Una watches her three possible mothers disperse around the beach. Eva, once again with her guitar in hand, is playing music for some of locals around the bonfire; Brynja has gone off to get more drinks and become tangled up with some of the younger Italian stallion types. This leaves her and Sam on their own, looking at all the people around them. “I always knew your dad was a cool guy, but he really outdid himself doing all of this for you.” Sam remarks warmly, “You two are incredibly lucky to have each other.”

This leads Una to musters up the courage to shuffle in her seat closer towards her and, at the very least, get to know some of the whole story with Sam and her father. “Miss Knight... I wanted to ask you something.” she wonders, “Have you ever... actually considered having children of your own?”

Sam becomes pensive upon hearing that, as her gaze turns downward. “I... don’t usually talking about that. It still hits way too close to home, even after all these years. But if you’re that curious...” she takes a deep breath and begins to explain, “Your dad and I had a bit of a run-in with each other 13 years ago. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, and your dad had just broken up with his college sweetheart, so it wasn’t much of a surprise we ended up sleeping together.”

Una nods attentively, her fists clenching in anticipation. “A couple weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. Back then my career was still taking its first steps, so I wasn’t sure as to how I’d support the child, but I knew I wanted to be the best working mom they could have. I was even planning on calling your dad, discussing how we’d do custody and what they’d be like when they got older...”

 _It’s me! It’s me!_ the starry-eyed Una thinks straight away, _You don’t have to wonder anymore, I’m right here next to you!_

A long pause follows.

“...And then I miscarried.”

At this, Una feels like the wind was just knocked out of her, continuing to listen as Sam finishes, “It was just completely spontaneous, but it felt like a literal punch to the gut. To this day I still don’t know what happened to cause that. I was so heartbroken I never spoke to Odd again, at least until today. And every now and then I think about how things could’ve been...”

“Oh, I... I understand.” Una mumbles, the emotion audibly draining from each of her words. “I-I’m sorry, I have to go.”

Clearly distraught, she runs away towards the rock formations that surround the beach, in order to collect her thoughts about the story she has just been told. So her father _did_ get Sam pregnant, just not with her. Una did have a lingering feeling that it wasn’t all that likely that Sam could be her mother—otherwise, she’d most likely have a darker complexion—but getting to hear her side of the story is enough to rule her out completely.

Realizing there’s still a 50/50 chance of who her mother could be, Una calms down considerably, and heads back into the luau, coming across Brynja and the group of Italian hunks she’s been with for most of the night. “Miss Brynja!” she stops to catch her breath before offering, “Can I talk to you? Alone? As in, just the two of us?”

By now, Brynja is already heavily drunk, her face more flushed than usual and her clothing looking somewhat disheveled. “ _Ohhhhhh_ , don’t mind if I _doooooo!_ ” she slurs, tumbling down towards Una and letting her take her hand to drag her away from the men.

Admittedly, Una is rather uncomfortable about having to talk to a drunk person, but she doesn’t want to wait any longer for a concrete answer. Although maybe it wouldn’t be so bad—after all, she did hear on at least one occasion that people tend to be more honest when they’re drunk as opposed to when they’re sober. “I know this is probably an extremely inappropriate occasion to ask this, but...” she asks, “Do you have any kids?”

“Pfffft! Don’t be silly!” Brynja says with a hearty laugh, “ _Of course_ I don't—hic!—have any kids, I don't _do_ commitment—hic! Boys come and go like seasons, that’s the—hic!—philosophy I’ve chosen to follow... I have never given birth in my life—hic!—let alone to a little mauve thing like you! If I had, I would’ve at least—hic!— _remembered_ it!”

Una takes a step back as she listens to the drunken rant in befuddlement, only for Brynja to shove her away. “Now if you excuse me, _krútt mitt_ , I can’t keep these —hic!—orgeous men waiting!” Brynja hollers, stumbling her way back to the group of Italian men. “ _Vinsamlegast berðu mig heim, strákar!_ ”

All Una can do in response to all of that is cringe, and it’s one of the most intense cringing she’s done in a long time. Yeah, there’s no conceivable way her mom would be such a drunken mess—she knows her father can do better. Thus, out of three possible mothers, two have already been ruled out, meaning the one remaining option has to be...

“Having fun, love?”

Eva.

Somehow, they manage to find each other amidst the sea of people gathered at the luau. Una swallows dry and grabs Eva by the hands, looking into her eyes. “M-Miss Skinner! I’m sorry if this doesn’t exactly seem like an appropriate thing to ask right now, but I really want to know...” she bites her lip and finally asks, “Do you remember ever giving birth to a baby girl with mauve hair and leaving her at my dad’s doorstep 13 years ago?”

Eva remains silent at first, raising an eyebrow at the oddly specific question. Somehow, she gets exactly what Una’s trying to get to. “I’m afraid not... I have known for quite a while, for 20 years, that I’m... Physically incapable of having children. Premature ovarian failure is what they call it.” she answers, caressing Una’s already downtrodden façade as she continues, “And as nice as it would be to have a daughter like you... I’m afraid I’m not really bothered with starting a family anyway. I hope you understand.”

Una just nods wordlessly and treads away, baffled and in disbelief at everything she’s heard. Just when she thought she had finally found the treasure island she had been looking for, her ship had been led down a whirlpool. None of the three women she thought could be her mother had actually given birth to her, or given birth at all. One had never conceived because she didn’t want to, one never conceived because she couldn’t, and one had actually conceived but miscarried—and judging by the pronouns she used, she never even got to know the sex of the baby. It was too much for Una to bear. Just the thought of going back to square one, after everything she did, made her head spin.

Nonetheless, she continues to make her way through the luau, until, with blurry eyes, she comes across Renge, sitting by the rocks as she watches Shoryu and Maya do conversation near the ocean—she’s _exactly_ who she needs at a time like this. “Ren... Renge!” Una calls out, clumsily making her way towards her and grabbing onto her to maintain balance.

“Oh my goodness, you look so unwell!” Renge exclaims in concern, leaning in to take a closer look at Una’s face and wiping the sweat off her brow. “Something wrong?”

“Let me... Sit down... And explain everything...” Una replies, allowing Renge to wrap an arm around her and guide her to a vacant set of chairs before finally explaining, “So I just spoke to them... The women I thought could have chances of being my mother... But it turns out... None of them are.” In the verge of tears, she completes, “And I just don’t know what to do.”

Initially stunned, Renge gets up and rallies the other three, warning them of Una’s weakened state and that they should leave immediately. Thus, the five teens leave the luau rather unceremoniously, with the Kurumi siblings holding Una up by her arms to keep her from tumbling onto the sidewalk, while Kazuki and Clarisse walk ahead of them, clearing the path. This time, the situation is too dire for any friendly banter, and Una herself is too lost in thought.

She thinks about how she looked up the women after reading about them on her father’s diary. How she managed to e-mail all three of them with birthday invitations. How they all showed up, and how, for most of the day, she thought she had found the missing piece in the puzzle that was her family. But what are you supposed to do when none of the pieces fit?

Soon, they get back to the Della Robbia home, and once they walk through the door, they immediately grab the attention of Odd and Roxy. Una wants to tell her father about what’s wrong, but she opens her mouth to speak, and no sound comes out.

She slips away from Shoryu and Renge’s grip and passes out on the living room floor, worrying everyone around her.

_You look like bad news..._


End file.
